Trump took $2 billion from Harvard for disobedience

The Trump administration said it was freezing more than $2 billion in federal funds for Harvard University, hours after the prestigious school rejected a list of White House demands, writes Air force.

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“Harvard’s announcement today confirms the disturbing mindset and permissiveness that has taken root at our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges,” the Education Department said in a statement.

Last week, the White House sent Harvard a list of demands it said were aimed at combating anti-Semitism on campus, including changes to governance, hiring practices, and admissions procedures.

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Harvard rejected the demands on April 14 and said the White House was trying to "control" its community.

It is the first major U.S. university to refuse pressure from the Trump administration to change its policies. The sweeping changes demanded by the White House would transform how the university operates and hand over significant control to the government.

President Trump has accused leading universities of failing to protect Jewish students when college campuses across the country were engulfed by protests last year against the Gaza war and U.S. support for Israel.

In a letter to the Harvard community on April 14, Harvard President Alan Garber said the White House had sent an “updated and expanded list of demands” on April 11, along with a warning that the university “must comply” to maintain its “financial relationship” with the government.

"We have informed the administration through our lawyers that we will not accept the agreement they have proposed," he wrote. "The university will not give up its independence or cede its constitutional rights."

Garber added that the university takes its responsibility to combat anti-Semitism seriously, but believes the government is overstepping its authority.

"While some of the government's requirements are aimed at combating anti-Semitism, most of them represent direct government regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard," he said.

Shortly after his letter was sent, the Education Department said it was immediately freezing $2,2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard.

"The disruptions to the educational process that have plagued campuses in recent years are unacceptable," the statement said.

"The targeting of Jewish students is unacceptable. It is time for prestigious universities to take this issue seriously and make meaningful changes if they want to continue to receive taxpayer support," the statement said.

In its April 11 letter, the White House said Harvard "has failed in recent years to meet either the intellectual or civic conditions that justify federal investment."

The letter outlined 10 categories of proposed changes that the White House believed were necessary to maintain Harvard's "financial relationship with the federal government."

Among the changes are: reporting to federal authorities students who are hostile to American values; ensuring “diversity of views” in every academic department; hiring a government-approved outside organization to audit programs and departments that “most contribute to anti-Semitic harassment.”

The letter, among other things, calls on the university to take disciplinary action for “violations” that occurred during campus protests over the past two years, and to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

Since the beginning of his term, President Trump has pressured universities to combat anti-Semitism and end diversity practices.

In December 2023, presidents of leading US universities testified at a tense congressional hearing where they were accused of failing to protect Jewish students after the war between Israel and Hamas began two months earlier.

Claudine Gay, then Harvard's president, later apologized after telling a hearing that calls to kill Jews were abhorrent, but whether such statements violated Harvard's code of conduct "depends on the context."

This statement, along with accusations of plagiarism, led to her resignation a month later.

In March, the Trump administration said it was considering renegotiating about $256 million in federal contracts and grants to Harvard, as well as an additional $8,7 billion in multiyear grant commitments.

Harvard professors have filed a countersuit, arguing that the government is unlawfully attacking free speech and academic freedom.

The White House previously withdrew $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University, accusing it of failing to combat anti-Semitism and protect Jewish students on campus.

When the $400 million was withdrawn, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said, "Universities must comply with all federal nondiscrimination laws if they want to receive federal funding."

Soon after, Columbia University agreed to several of the administration's demands, drawing criticism from some students and faculty.

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A lawyer for an organizer of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University said April 14 that his client was arrested by immigration authorities while attending an interview as part of his application for U.S. citizenship.

Mohsen Mahdavi, a green card holder who is scheduled to graduate next month, was arrested April 14 in Colchester, Vermont.

Other anti-war protesters, including Columbia University's Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University's Rumeysa Ozturk, have also been detained in recent weeks.

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